I’m haven’t read the book so I can’t judge it on it’s merits but I think it’s credible that Bartlett changed his mind. The banking crisis does provide new information and some of that new information can suggest that Reagan’s economic policies might have been less good than he initially thought. Reagan championed deregulation of out financial system. Regulation seems more important now and trusting that reducing economic growth is a consequence of low tax rates on the rich seems less credible after a large part of the economic growth of the last decade produced by the very rich was illusory. (Just to be clear I have no interest in defending these arguments, but I think arguments like these can address the apparent inconsistency. A man changes his mind in response to new information.)

AndrewMay 17, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Did Reagan think we should be running deficits 20(!) years after the fall of the iron curtain?

techresellerMay 19, 2009 at 3:17 pm

I would think women would avoid the smart memory bra. It would provide an involuntary physical response that would prevent a woman from hiding her current desires. Why give that information away for free? Men have had to pay for it for centuries.